Nagpur: Reiterating the demand of an NGO, the Opposition Leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil asked the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to remove Minister of State for Urban Development Ranjit Patil for causing a loss of Rs 155 crore to the state exchequer. “The minister had extended undue gain to Maharashtra Rashtrabhasha Sabha by reducing the premium and ground rent from Rs 163.75 crore to Rs 8 crore.
Notably, Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) had leased one acre land on North Ambazari Road to Rashtrabhasha Sabha in 1961 for promoting Hindi language. However, in 2003, the Rashtrabhasha Sabha leased the land to SMG Hospitals, which signed a management agreement with Wockhardt Hospitals in 2007 for running the hospital on 33% revenue sharing basis.
“Even though Wockhardt transacted a business of about Rs 1,000 crore in ten years, NIT did not get anything. Wockhardt pocketed the land for a paltry sum of Rs 30 lakh when the cost of the land was Rs 100 crore,” the NGO Citizens Forum for Equality had stated.
Reiterating the demand of the NGO, Vikhe Patil asked the Chief Minister to sack the Minister of State for Urban Development Ranjit Patil for denting state coffers to the tune of Rs 155 crore.
The Opposition Leader, making public the irregularities of committed by Minister for Housing Prakash Mehta, also demanded his sacking.
“While Eknath Khadse was shown the door for his misdeeds then why not the other ministers on the same line,” Vikhe Patil questioned.
On the other hand, NCP leader Jayant Patil raised the issue of gangster Santosh Ambekar who is absconding since he past 11 months. The BJP MLA Vikas Kumbhare had visited the Nagpur Jail to celebrate birthday of the gangster. Ambekar had helped Kumbhare during Assembly elections, Patil alleged.